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Island of the Lizard King (book)
:For other uses of '''Island of the Lizard King', see'' Island of the Lizard King Island of the Lizard King is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Alan Langford and originally published in 1984 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2003. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 7th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031743-0) and 17th in the Wizard "Series 1" (ISBN 1-84046-491-7). Creation Background - Back Cover ("Golden Dragon" Edition)}} Like much of the ''Fighting Fantasy series, Island of the Lizard King is set in the fictional world of Titan; this particular adventure takes place on the continent of Allansia. The player's character begins the story by travelling from the populous city of Fang to the quiet coastal village of Oyster Bay, only to discover that the village is regularly being attacked by the Lizard Men of Fire Island, and that young men are being carried off to serve as slaves in their gold mines. The game proper beings with the player setting sail for Fire Island, intent on righting the situation. Like many other Ian Livingstone Fighting Fantasy books, such as Deathtrap Dungeon and Temple of Terror, Island of the Lizard King has multiple paths which lead to the final confrontation, although the overall journey is fairly linear. This linear design, combined with the fact that there are a bare minimum of essential items to collect, means that any path can lead to a successful quest. However, some paths and items can make the adventure much more easy or difficult. Despite a distinct lack of "sudden death" sections in the book, several bruising encounters can make this a difficult quest to complete, even with a skill of 11 or more. This book is notable for the massive battle between the freed slaves and Lizard Men which takes place, one of the few large scale battles depicted in a Fighting Fantasy gamebook. How to Fight the Creatures of Fire Island/Equipment and Potions/Hints on Play The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System). Equipment List - p.16 *Sword *Leather Armour *Backpack *10 Provisions *Choice of one of three Potions (see Game System for generic fantasy setting choices) Cover and Illustrations Covers The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Iain McCaig. When the book was republished by Wizard a new cover was designed and illustrated by Martin McKenna that in many ways reflects the original cover of the Puffin Books publication. For McKenna "this again was a case of replacing and/or updating another wonderful Iain McCaig original. Ian Livingstone wanted some kind of jungle background, and decided against the inclusion of the Lizard King's black lion. I suggested the addition of sinister-looking statues in the undergrowth." Island of the Lizard King was the final Fighting Fantasy book to be produced using the Coloured Number Format layout when originally published by Puffin. The "Special Limited Edition" of the Wizard version used gold embossing as opposed to the usual silver. NOTES #Price of 1st~3rd Impressions #In Warlock Issue 2 there is an image of a cover of Island of the Lizard King that was never released. The back cover of this issue of Warlock was an advert for the gamebooks. It showed the cover of Island of the Lizard King with an altered version of the font used for the title of the adventure and a different coloured star. Therefore the advert has a cover that was never released. #Price of 6th Impression #Price of 10th Impression #Price of 12th Impression #Price of 13th Impression Illustrations The interior illustrations, including the black and white map accompanying paragraph 149, were by Alan Langford. There were 32 full page illustrations and 5 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. There is also an exclusive illustration on the title page. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 14, 30, 39, 48, 59, 71, 82, 101, 116, 128, 139, 149, 158, 168, 195, 211, 223, 235, 249, 254, 268, 279, 291, 305, 317, 325, 337, 350, 360, 379 and 390. Intertextual References The Hero starts his journey in Fang, the setting of the previous gamebook, Deathtrap Dungeon. - p.20 The Dungeon itself is mentioned by Mungo as the place where his father met his end. - 1 While some have suggested it is possible that the Hero of this book is the same individual as that of Deathtrap Dungeon (and by extension, also that of City of Thieves), it is nowhere explicitly stated that he is. Other Media An iPhone/Android conversion of the book was produced by Tin Man Games and released in 2013. Main Characters YOU: Hero of Island of the Lizard King *Lizard King - Lizard Man *Mungo *Old Thief - Thief *Sama *Shaman - Pygmy Locations *Fang *Fire Island *Fire Island Prison Colony *Oyster Bay *Port Blacksand Encounters *Bear *Black Lion *Cave Woman *Crocodile *Cyclops *Giant Crab *Giant Dragonfly *Giant Lizard *Giant Wasp *Giant Water-Snake *Goblin *Grannits *Headhunters - Chief/Pygmy/Regular *Hill Troll *Hobgoblin *Humans - Delirious Prisoner/Pirates/Pirate Captain *Hydra *Lizard Men - King/Mutant/Regular/Two-Headed *Ogre *Orc - Guard *Razorjaw *Sabre-Toothed Tiger *Shape Changer *Slime Sucker *Spit Toad *Styracosaurus Further Notes *10 instant failures, 1 victory, plus death by stamina loss or bad luck. Errors Dedication Puffin Edition For Roy Coleman Wizard Edition For Dave Holt, the unsung hero of Fighting Fantasy See Also *''Casket of Souls'' *''Dicing with Dragons'' *''Fighting Fantasy'' Reviews *Reviewed by Marcus L. Rowland in White Dwarf 53 (May 1984) "Open Box" (pp.16-17): *[http://user.tninet.se/~wcw454p/docs/ff7.txt ''Island of the Lizard King at] FF Reviews Archive External Links *Character Sheet *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=11 Fighting Fantasy at Gamebooks.org] *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=12 Fighting Fantasy (Wizard Series 1) at Gamebooks.org] *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_item.php?id=44 Island of the Lizard King at Gamebooks.org] *[http://web.archive.org/web/20050406002535/http://www.fightingfantasy.com/ffb7.htm Island of the Lizard King at the Internet Archive record of the old] Fightingfantasy.com References Category:1984 books Category:Fighting Fantasy Original Series Category:Fighting Fantasy Wizard Series